Circular knitting machine



Oct. 29, 1935. F. E. DEANS El AL 2,019,396

' CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept-10, 1934 e Sheets-Sheet 1 lA/Vi/V 7'0 RuS q 'flzm 0d. 29, 1935. i E, DEANS ET AL I 2,019,396

C IRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Fil ed Sept. 10, 1934. a Sheets-Sheet l2 IN T F. E. DEANS ET AL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Oct. 29, 1935.

Filed Sept. 10, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 29, 1935. F. E. DEANS El AL- CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE .Filed Sept. 10, 1934 I 6 Sheets-Sheet 5;

/A/ VE/V TOPS Oct. 29, 1935. F. E. DEANS El AL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 10, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Oct. 29, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 2,019,396 cmcumn KNITTING momma Frederick Edward Deans and Charles. Frederick Manger, Leicester, England, assignors .to The Bentley Engineering Company Limited, Leicester, England 9Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating the rib knitting by transferring such needles from one needle cylinder to the other.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved constructions of such needle-selecting mechanism, which are applicable to, but not necessarily limited in application to, machines of the multi-feed-point type.

In the constructions of needle-selecting mechanism hereinafter described as illustrative of the present invention, the said mechanism comprises a series or elements, hereinafter termed jacks, each adapted to be acted upon by a cam thereby to operate a needle or needle slider, a series of other elements, hereinafter termed selectors, adapted to act upon said jacks to vary the operative relation of the Jacks with said cam, and pattern-controlled means for operating said selectors.

In the said constructions, the jacks are each rocked to engage or miss a cam which is adapted to move the jack to cause it to engage and move a needle slider. Also, in said constructions, the jack is located in the same needletrickin the needle cylinder as is the, needle slider. In one of the said constructions, each selector is also situated within a needle trick and is moved lengthwise of the trick to rock the jack, but in another of said constructions, the selectors are in tricks which are other than the needle tricks and which are disposed at an angle to the needle tricks.- In the said constructions the pattem-controlled means comprises a drum having detachable cam pieces upon it, each of which pieces by rotation of the drum is adapted to move-one of a series of machine elements to bring a cam incline thereon out of and into range of a butt on a selector was, at times, to move the selector in its trick by reason of the butt moving over the cam incline as the operation of the machine carries these parts past r each other. 4 In a machine of the multi-feed-point type as above referred to, usually each feed point of the machine will have a needle-selecting mechanism especially appropriated to it, but in certain circumstances such an arrangement is by no means essential. Thus, one of the needle-selecting mechanisms can be dispensed with in the case of a machine having two feed points, when that machine is to effect patterning of the type which is produced when, in a given part of the knitted I fabric, certain needles of a needle-group knit only '5 at one of the feed points while the other needles of that needle-group knit only at the other feed point. In such a case the efiect produced at one feed-point by a needle-selecting mechanism appropriated to that feed point can be reversed at 10 the other feed point by a suitable arrangement of. cams.

The present invention provides also an improved cam assemblage for the jacks above referred to which assemblage includes an arrange- 15 ment of cams by means of which the setting given' to the jacks by the pattern means for the operation of the needles at one feed point is reversed for the operation of the needles at another feed point.

The said illustrative constructions, including a convenient form of cam assemblage for the jacks as above referred to, will now be described with the aid of theacconipanying drawings, and will be assumed, by way of example, as applied to the 25 well-known superposed cylinder type of machine which is exemplified by the machines described in the specifications of .British Letters Patent Nos. 15,008/1900, 24,290/ 1912 and 171,483, the machine being assumed to be one. in which the 80- needle cylinders rotate within the stationary c'am boxes. The features of the invention are pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying diagrammatic drawa mgsz- 4 Figure 1 is a development 0f the said cam assemblage for the jacks as seenfrom the interior of the cam box;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cams shown in Figure 1, certain of the jacks being shown also: 40

Figures 3 and '4 are perspective views of two of the cams seenin Figure 2, but viewed from a diflerent station from that from which they are seen in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of part of a circular knitting machine, having applied thereto, one construction of needle-selecting mechanism according to the present invention;

Figure 6 is a plan of certain of the parts shown in Figure 5;

Figure '1 is a sectional elevation'of'parts seen in Figure 6;

Figures 8 and 9 are detail views showing, respectively, a jack and a selector in two different positions;

Figure 10 is'a detail view of means for operating a selector; 1

Figure 11 shows another construction of needle-selecting mechanism according to this invention;

Figure 12 is a development of cams in the lower cam box of the machines as seen from the interior of the cam box in a constructionin which .at each of two feed points of the machine needleselecting mechanism as shown in Figures 5 to 9' or as shown in Figure 10 is employed;

Figure 13 is an inverted plan of certain of the cams shown in Figure 12; and

Figure 14 is a development of. cams in the lower cam box of the machine as seen from the interior of the cam box in a construction in which the cam arrangement for the jacks as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is employed, thereby necessitating the need of a needle-selecting mechanism at but one of the two feed-points of the machine.

The machine illustrated in the drawings cc'mprises a circular bed plate 10 which is secured to the frame of the machine. Above the bed plate 10 and held spaced therefrom by means including pillars 12 is a second bed plate 14 by which the cam box 18 for the lower or plain needle cylinder 18 is supported. The needle cylinder 18 is rotated about its axis by connections from thev main shaft of the machine, said connections including a gear wheel 80 (Figure '1) which is attached to the lower end of the needle cylinder 18.

The first of said constructions comprises apattern drum 82 (Figure 5) located on the outer side of and near the bottom end of the plain needle cylinder 18, and adapted to rotate about an axis.

parallel with the axis of said cylinder. The pattern drum 82 is rotatably mounted upon a stud 84 (Figure '1) projecting upwardly from a plate 88 secured to the bed plate 10 and comprises an innercore-like portion 88 surrounded by an outer shell 80, the two parts 88 and 80 being secured together by screws 82. The pattern drum is held frictionally against unwanted movement by a spring 84 in compression between two washers 88 and 98 loose on the stud 84, the upper washer 88 being backed up by a nut I00 by the turning of which the degree of compression of the spring 84 can be adjusted. The pattern drum 82 is intermittently rotated by a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism comprising a ratchet wheel I02 (Figure 5) secured to the lower end of the drum, the teeth of which ratchet wheel are engaged by a pawl I04, pivotally mounted upon a lever I08 that can swing about the drum axis and is actuated by a cam- I08 carried upon the gear wheel 80. Suitably arranged springs IIO 'andi I2 maintain, respectively, the pawl I04 in engagement with the ratchet wheel I02 and the lever I08 in the' .cam pieces II4 are inserted in accordance with thepattern to be produced in the knitted fabric. Pivoted upon a post I I8 (Figure 6) arranged parallelwith the drum axis, is a series of springpressed levers I20, fourteen in number (see Figure 5) to agree with the number of tiers of holes 'I I8, each of which levers has-a pointed end II8 which is' located closely adjacent the drum periphery and overlying one of the rows of holes I18; this end II8 of the lever will accordingly be lifted, i. e. moved away from the drum, as the pattern drum rotates, by a cam piece or pieces m present in that row. .Theother end m of each lever I20 has a cam incline I22 formed upon 5 it which, when the pointed end III of said lever is not lifted by a cam piece H4 in said. row of holes is in the path of movement (due to rotation of the needle cylinder) of a butt I28 on a selector I24 in a needle trick I28 in the needlecylinder 18. The selector I24, which will presently be described, is raised by the action of the cam incline- I 22. on the butt I 28. When the pointed end III of the lever I20 is lifted by a cam piece II4 on the pattern drum periphery (see Figure 10), the 15 cam incline'l22 on the other end of the lever is removed from the path of the butt I28, and consequently the selector I 24 is not raised.

A selector I24 is associated with each of the .needles I28 (Figure 7) which is concerned in the 20 selecting operation. This selector is located in] the needle trick I28 below the usual needle I21, but between each slider I21 and the select? I24 there is situated in the trick I28 a jack presently to be described. In-general appesr- 28 ance the selectors resemble the usual needle sliders, that is to say they are relatively long and thin pieces of metal adapted to be receive'd in and moved to and fro along the needle tricks in the cylinder. Each selector has two butts. I28 and I28 ofwhich the butt I28 is in thessme relative position on all the selectors, and is embox 18. The second butt-I28 of the twobuttl mentioned is in a different position infdliferent selectors, but in any given selector, the position of this butt I28 is such that when the selector is in 40 said initial position the butt I28 will'been aged by the cam incline 122 on one of the fourteen levers I20, if the pointedgend Il8'of'ihat lever is not in engagement with a cam piece 4 on the pattern drum. Near its upper end each se- 4's lector has a short offset portion l82 extending outwardly from the needle cylinder, followedby an upwardly-extending portion I88, the inner side of which (i. e. the sidefnearsrthe needle, e cylinder) has formed upon-it anincline which sogives to the selector a somewhat pointed upper end I84. This pointed end is ada ted to engage and rock a 'Jack 128-which is tuated trick immediately above the selector. Each Jack, has two butts m, m adapted to be encased. es respectively, two cam surfaces 181, I88 formedupon ac'amblock in the cam box118fof-the inachine. Thetwo'butts188," I88, onthe jack 128- are at diiferentlevels, the upper butt I88 extending outwardly and (at times) over'the cam 80 surface I81, and the lower butt I88 projecting upwardly in front of the camsurface I88. Be-' low the lower butt 188 the jack slopes downwardly and inwardly in an incline I88 which is' adapted to be engaged by the pointed upper end as 184 of the selector; and belovrthe incline I88 on the jack, the jack has a short stem I48, rounded at its bottom end, which normally is situated behind the upper end of the selector, in the recess afforded by the offset portion I82 of the selector. 70 Tlie'function of the jack I28 isto raise a needle slider I21 to a level at which it will come under control ofthe usual cams in the cam box 18 so that the needle associated with the slider will perform its normal operations. To perform this 18 function the jack I28 is raised by the engagement of its upper butt I with the cam surface I31, and lifts the needle slider I21 by engagement of the bottom of said slider by the top end of the jack. Having performed this duty, the jack is later returned to its initial position by a third cam surface MI on the cam block which .surface engages a part of the jack between its two butts I35 and I36. When in the selecting operation a needle is not to be lifted as just described, a selector I24 (see Figures 8 and 9) will be raised by the means previously stated, and" its pointed upper end 134 will engage the incline I39 on the jack I28 and rock the jack inwardly and remove its upper butt I35 from over the cam surface I31. Later in the operation of the machine the jack is moved outwardly again by the action of the cam surface I38 upon the lower butt I36 of the jack.

Centrifugal action due to rotation of the needle cylinder 18 tends to move the jacks I28 outwardly and thus tends to maintain the upper butt I35 of each jack in full engagement with the cam surface I31. To assist this action the cam surface I31, in cross-section, incline: downwardly and outwardly somewhat, and the lower edge of the upper butt I35 has a corresponding inclination. At the part of the said upper surface I31, however, at which the jack I28 is moved inwardly by the action of its selector, the upper surface I31 of the cam block is substantially horizontal (in cross-section) or even slightly reversely inclined, so as to permit the jack under action of its selector to be moved inward easily at this part of said surface. Immediately following this part of said surface (considered, in relation to the direction of rotation of the needle cylinder) the surface rises a distance sufficient to come in front of the upper butt of a jack that has been pushed back by its selector and thus keep that jack in its inward po-ition until it has safely passed the rise on said upper cam surface I31 which is employed to give to a jack its needleslider-lifting movement; This cam formation, it will be appreciated, completely segregates those jacks which are to remain inoperative from those which are to perform their slider-lifting function.

Among the advantages possessed by a COIl'ftIllC- tion according to this inventionare the follow- I ing;

The selectors I26 having only to control the position of the jacks I28 need move but a short distance (say one-sixteenth of an inch) compared with the relatively longer distance (some quarter of an inch) which the jacks have to move to ensure that the needle-sliders I21 controlled by'them shall properly engage the cams which "act upon the needle-sliders; if by accidental movement of a selector I 24 a jack that should not have been acted upon is moved inwardly, so that at least its upper butt I35 only just engages the cam surface I31, centrifugal action and the shapes of that surface and of the butt as aforesaid will move the jack outwardly again so that its butt fully engages said surface; the position in which the pattern drum 82 can be placed is variable within relatively wide limits considering that the point in the needle circle at which the selectors I23 are moved by the action of the pattern drum need not of necessity be closely adjacent the point in said circle at which the Jacks I28 act upon the needle sliders I21; and the layout of the cam pieces I I4 on the periphery of the pattern drum 82 determines which needles shall knit, for, as pointed out hereinbefore, the cam pieces IIB acting on the pointed ends II9 of thelevers I20 remove the inclined ends I22 of said levers from the path of the butts I23 on the selectors I24 and as a consequence the selectors remain idle, and thereby permit a jack I28 to move its needle slider I21 to a position in which, in due course, it reaches the stitch cam.

The two advantages last mentioned are of importance in connection with the multi-feed-point type of machine previously referred to, an example of which type of machine is described in application Serial No. 667,444 filed April 22, 1933.

Thus, in such a machine having two feed points (a main feed point and an additional feed point) a needle-selecting-mechanism according to the present invention can be provided for each feed point. These mechanisms can be placed at any convenient points in the needle circle (usually towards the back of the machine) and each will show by the lay-out of the detachable cam pieces 20 on its pattern drum the needles which are to knit at the particular feed point to which that mechanism is appropriated.

In one construction of cam assembly for a machine as just referred to, the stitch cam I 50 (Figure 12) for the additional feed point is a patterncontrolled bolt cam adjustment of which bolt cam can be such as to. cause the knitting butts I5I of the needle sliders to miss said stitch cam I50 and be engaged only by the stitch cam I52 at the main feed point when knitting at the additional feed point is not to occur. The track followed by the knitting butts I5I at this time is indicated at I53. When knitting is to take place at both feed points, the cam I50 is moved inwardly of the needle cylinders so as to engage the knitting butts I5I which then follow the track I54 in the vicinity of the additional feed point, so that knitting occurs at that feed point also. Preceding the stitch cam I52, in the direction of rotation of the needle sliders, is a pattern-controlled bolt cam I 55, which may be termed a pilot cam, and preceding the stitch cam I 58 is a similar pilot cam I56. Each of the pilot cams I55, I58 is located at a point in the needle circle at or preferably slightly in advance of the point where the rise (indicated .at I58 or I59 in Figure 12) on the cam surface I31 is situated, which gives to the jacks I28 as aforesaid their needle-slider-lifting movement.

Patterning is usually performed at both feed points and when patterning is to begin both of the pilot cams I and I56 are withdrawn into i inoperative position. In the patterning operation a needle slider I21 (which moves from right to left in Figure 12) in passing the position of the 55 pilot cam I55 will either be lifted by its associated jack I28 so that its knitting butt I5 I travelling in the left-hand portion of the track I54 reaches the track I53, which later brings it to the stitch cam 152 of the main feed point, or the needle 60 slider is not so' lifted with the result that its knitting butt passes along an idle track I60 which brings it to the stitch cam I52-at a non-knitting level. The course the needle slider takes, depends upon a previous selective action on its jack I28 by the selector I 24, which is associated with that jack. If, for instance, the jack has been pushed inwardly by its selector, under action of the selecting mechanism for the main feed point, which mechanism is located at I52 (Figure 12), the upper butt I35 of the jack will have been removed from over the cam'surface I31 and consequently the jack and its needle slider will not be lifted by the rise S58. If, on the other hand, the

action of the said needle-selecting mechanism has 7 v been such as not to actuate the selector, the upper butt of the jack-will remain over the cam surface I31 and the Jack will be lifted by the rise I58 and in turn will lift its needle slider. The needle slider, whether it has been acted upon by the main stitch cam I52 or has travelled along the idle track I 80, in its continued movement next passes the position of the pilot cam I58. Here again, it either is lifted by its jack (by the action thereon of the rise I58) into the track I53 which brings it to the additional stitch cam I50 or it is allowed to pass along the idletrack I80 in which it passes the stitch cam I50 at'non-knittinglevel, according to the setting of the jack by the needleselecting mechanism appropriated to the 'addi-'- tional feed point, which mechanism is located at I84 (Figure 12) .Thus, in the present construction, any given needle by the action of the two needle-selecting mechanisms upon the jack associated with the slider for that needle, can be caused to knit at both feed points, to knit at either feed point to the exclusion of the other, or to knit at neither feed point.

In Figure 12, the double line I88 represents the position in respect to the needle circle, at which a Jack and its associated needle slider have reached just after the upper butt I35 of the Jack has run up the rise I58. The rising movement thus imparted to the jack has lifted its needle slider so that the knitting butt II thereof has been brought into the track I54 which it would have followed had the pilot cam I55 been in operative position. The knitting butt I5I next follows the track I53 leading to the stitch cam I52. 'I'he jack is now returned to its lower level again by the cam surface I which, as aforesaid, acts upon a part of the jack between its butts I35 and I35, as will be evident from an inspectioxi'ol Figure 7; and the jack is now in readiness to be surface I31 at this part I18 thereof is recessed somewhat as previously explained so that the butt I35 can be moved readily from said surface, and

immediately adjacent said part I18, also as previously explained, there is a slight rise I12, which maintains the jack in its inward position. This slight rise I12 is not sufllcient tcr cause a lack which has not been pushed back to engage and move its associated needle slider. At the position I88, it will be noted that the knitting butt I5I of the needle slider is in the idle track I80 and consequently the needle of that slider will not knit at the main feed stitch cam I52. The jack that was pushed back will be returned to its original lower and outward position, soon after it passes .the line I88, by the cam surface I II and by the cam surface I38 which, as'aforesaid', acts upon its lower butt I 38. The jack is now in readiness for selection or otherwise at the station I64, at which the selecting mechanism for the additional feed point is located.

In .pattem production it frequently happens that in a given part of the fabric needles which knit at the main feed point do not knit at the additional feed point while those which do knit at the last-named point do not knit at the main feed point. The action of each needle-selecting mechanism inthis particular instance is the converse of that of the other. It will be appreciated that in the present construction each Jack, after 5 having been set by one selecting mechanism and after having'acted according to that setting, is returned to-a neutral position in readiness to be reset by the second selecting mechanism. In the type of patterning just referred to the setting of any jack by one selecting mechanism is the converse of the setting of that lack by the other selectingmechanism. Hence, for this particular type of patterning, one of the selecting mechanisms can be dispensed with and cams or the like 15 provided for reversing the setting which the remainingsingle selecting mechanisms has given to the jacks. In Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, a convenient cam assemblage for the jacks for the above purpose is shown, whilein Figure 14, the relation of this assembageto the rest of the cams in the lower cam box is illustrated. In the following description it will be assumed that the jacks move from right to left in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, and that they are situated in the needle tricks of the needle cylinder and acted uponby selectors as previously describedl The position in the needle circle at which the selectors areadapted to act upon the jacks is indicated at In. In the operation of the machine, the upper butts I2 of those Jacks which have been rocked inwardly by their selectors so that said butts are removed from over the surface II of the cam block I8, pass behind the raised part 3 I4 of the cam block I5, as is shown by the jack I8 (Figure 2). These jacks as they travel, round with the needle cylinder remain at the level at which the jack I8 is shown, see the jack 28, until after they have passed the cam block 28. On 30 the underside of the cam block 28 there is a cam 28 (see Figure 4), which engages the lower butt butts I2 of these Jacks now pass over the surface 32 of the cam block 34, run up the incline 38, pass over the surface 38 and then up the incline 40 (see the jack 24) at which latter point these Jacks engage their needle sliders and lift them into the range of their operating cams. These jacks are later returned to their initial level by a cam on the underside of the cam block I8 which enga es the part I 40 of each jack.

The upper butts I2 of those jacks which have not been rocked inwardly by their selectors at the point III, run up the incline 42 on the block I8, then pass along the adjacent upper surface 44 of said block, them along the surface 48 of cam block 50, see jack I1, after which the upper butts run up the incline 52, see jack I9, at which point 00 v these jacks engage their needle sliders and lift them into range of their operating cams. After passing up the incline 52, these jacks are rocked inwardly by the action on the outer ends of their upper butts of the inwardly-inclinedsurface 54 of cam block 58, see jack 2|. These jacks are next'lowered, see Tack 23, by the action on the upper ends of their lower butts 30 of the incline 80 on the block 58 and are still further lowered by the incline 82 on the block 34, which incline Jacks have to pass through it) the outer faces- 54 of the upper butts I2 are somewhat inclined downwardly and inwardly. This construction ensures that during travel of the upper butts across said gap the face 64 shall engage the inner face of the block 34 even though the jacks have been rocked outwardly somewhat, say under the action of centrifugal force, in the crossing of the gap. It will be appreciated that the upper butts of allthe jacks are provided with the inclined face 84, as under the action of its '5 selector at the point I0, the upper butt of any one of the jacks may have to pass across the said gap.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the jacks I8, 20, 22, 24 which are rocked inwardly by their selectors at the point I are not rocked outwardly again until after they have passed the incline 52 when they are lifted by the incline 40 to operate their needle sliders so that the corresponding needles knit at one of the feed points. It will be noted also that the jacks II. I9, 2|, 23. 25 which are not rocked inwardly at I0 are lifted by the incline 52 with the result that the needles associated with these jacks knit at the other feed point of the machine and that thereafter I these jacks are rocked inwardly before they reach the incline 40. Thus, the jacks that are lifted by the incline 40 are not lifted by the incline 52, while those that are lifted by the incline 52 are not lifted by the incline 40. To permit the jacks I8, 20, 22, 24 to pass by the cam block 56 and yet remain rocked forward, the block 56 is cut away at 5:85 to provide room for the upper butts of these In a modification, the inclined surface 54 on the block 58 is dispensed with and instead the edge 86 (Figure 2) of the block 58 is chamfered oif. With such a construction, the jack will be rocked inwardly, as it is moved down by the incline 80, owing to the action of the chamfer on the upper butt of the jack.

In Figure 14, the pilot cams corresponding to the pilot cams I55 and I55 are indicated at I90 and I92, respectively, while I94 is the stitch cam for the main-feed point and I96 is the stitch cam for the additional feed point. The idle track in which the knitting butts of the needle sliders travel at times, is indicated at I98, theknitting tracks for the main feed point and the additional feed point being indicated at 200 and 202 respectively. The single needle selecting mechanism which only is required in this construction is located at I0.

In the second construction of needle-selecting mechanism according to the present invention which is illustrated in Figure 11, the pattern drum 82 instead of being arranged with its axis parallel with that of the needle cylinder, as in the first construction, has its axis at an angle to the axis of the cylinder. In the particular example under consideration the axis of the drum intersects the axis of the cylinder and makes an angle of about forty-five degrees with the cylinder axis. I

In other respects the drum is similar to the pattern drum of the construction herein first described and has co-operating with it a similar series of levers I20, and is driven in a similar manner. The selectors I24 in this construction are arranged in tricks formed in a conical bed I I80 which is secured to the gear wheel 80 which,v

as before mentioned, is attached to the needle 5 cylinder I8. The cam I82 which actuates the pawl and ratchet mechanism (indicated generally at I 84) for driving the drum 82 is carried upon this conical bed I80. The surface of the conical bed is that of substantially a ninety degree cone and as it is symmetrical about the cylinder axis, adjacent parts of the drum periphery and of the surface of the conical bed are substantially parallel to one another. The upper end of each selector is so formed as to have a substantiallyl5 vertical surface I84 for engaging a similar surface on the jack I86 which surface takes the partof the incline I39 on the jack I28 of the first construction. In the jack now being described, the lower part or stem I88 is received behind a part of the conical-bed I80 and the part of the jack about the upper butt I 35 is somewhat longer than in the first construction to allow for the fact that the jack is generally lower in the cylinder owing to the inclined position of the pattern drum 82.

In operation, this construction is similar to the first construction and a description of its operation is therefore deemed unnecessary, but it may be mentioned that when a selector I24 ismoved upwardly by the action of the cam incline I22 of the associated lever I20 upon the butt I23 of the selector, the jack I88 is moved inwardly by the selector and the upper butt I of the jack is thereby removed from over the cam sur- 35 face I31, and that in this construction the selector I 24 is returned to its initial position by being forced downwardly by the jack as the jack is moved outwardly by the cam surface I38 acting upon its lower butt I36. 4

Although the needle-selecting mechanism and the cam assemblage for the jack have been herein described as applied only to the plain needle cylinder of the machine, it will be appreciated that the said mechanism and assemblage may equally well be applied to the rib needle cylinder of the machine or even to both of said cylinders.

We claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder having tricks therein, a needle slider and a jack for operating the slider, both located in one and the same trick of the needle cylinder,

a cam for operating said jack, a conical bed sta tionary in relation to the needle cylinder, tricks in said bed, a selector in one of the tricks in said bed, and pattern means for moving said selector lengthwise of said trick, whereby said selector moves the jack from engagement with its operating cam.

2. In a' circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder having tricks therein, a needle slider,

a jack for operating the slider, and a selector for controlling the jack, all located within one and the same trick of the needle cylinder, a jack-operating cam, and pattern means for moving the selector lengthwise of said trick to move the jack out of engagement with the jack-operating cam.

3. In a circular knitting machine, a pattern drum, a stud upon which said pattern drum is rotatably mounted, a recess in an end of said drum into which recess a part of said stud projects anda spiral spring surrounding said part of the stud, said spring being held in compression between the bottom of said recess and 7 the end of said part by means located at said end. I

and thereby to restore the first named butt to operative relation with the first named cam, said butts being mutually disposed substantially at right angles and being adapted to straddle said cams. v

5. In a circular knitting machine, a needle slider, a jack for moving said slider, two butts on said jack arranged at different levels on said jack and mutually disposed substantially at right angles, cam means for operating said jack,

said cam means including a cam for imparting slider-operating movement to said jack with which cam one of said butts is adapted to engage, means for moving the Jack to remove said butt from engagement with said'cam, and a second cam adapted to engage the other one of said butts and thereby to restore the first named butt to operative relation with the first named cam,

said butts being mutually disposed substantially at right angles and being adapted to straddle said cams, one of said butts having a cam engaging surface inclined at an acute angle to another cam engaging surface thereon, whereby the jack by reason ofsaid inclined surface is enabled to cross a gap in said cam means, into which gap the said butt would otherwise tend to enter.

6. In mechanism for selecting and operatingthe needles or needle sliders of circular knitting machines, the combination with a plurality of jacks, each jack being operatively connected with a needle or needle slider and having two butts mutually disposed substantially at right angles, of selecting mechanism for each jack, said mechanism comprising cam means provided with cam surfaces for cooperation respectively with the jack butts, said butts being arranged to straddle said cam means, and a selector for moving said jack to remove one of said butts from operative relation with the associated cam surface,

the other of said cam surfaces being constructed and arranged for cooperation with the other of'said butts to return said jack and position said first butt in operative relation with the associated cam surfaces.

'7. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder having tricks therein a needle slider. a jack for operating the slider, and a selector for controlling the jack, all located within one and the same trick of the needle cylinder, a jackcam, said selector and jack being provided withcooperating cam surfaces for effecting displace-- ment of said jack laterally of the path of movement of said selector.

8. In mechanism for selecting and operating the needles or needle sliders of 'circular knitting machines having two feed points, the combination with a plurality of jacks, each Jack, being 15 operatively connected with a needle and having two butts, of selecting and operating mechanism for each Jack, said mechanism comprising c'am means provided with cam surfaces for cooperation respectively with the jack butts, said butts being arranged to straddle said cam means, and a selector for moving saidjack to remove one of said butts from operative relation'with the associated cam surface to render the jack inoperative for needle actuating movement thereby, the

'other of said cam surfaces being constructed an nation with a rotating needle cylinder, of a plurality of needle controlling jacks carried by said cylinder, at least two stationary cams adjacent'portions thereof spaced circumferentiaily and generallyaxially of the needle cylinder to provide a gap therebetween, each jack being provided with at least onelaterally directed butt having a surface extending general-t ly radially ofthe axis of the needle cylinder for engagement by at least one of said cams, said butt being further provided with an outer f inclined at an acute angle with respect to e radialforengagement with the inner faces gt It! the cams, the inclination of this outerface-beinginward in the direction of the axial spacing ofthe following cam from the leading cam, whereby the butt may more readily pass over the gap between the cams. FREDERICK EDWARD DEANS.

CHARLES FREDERICK MANGER. 

